The present embodiments relate to ultrasound imaging. In particular, acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging may be improved.
In ARFI imaging, a shear, longitudinal or other wave is generated with an ARFI transmitted as a push pulse. Ultrasound energy is transmitted to a focal region to generate the wave, resulting in displacement of tissue around the focal region. Further ultrasound scanning tracks the displacement of tissue over time at locations around the focal region. For each location, the peak or maximum displacement is determined and used to generate an image. However, maximum displacement may be biased because parts of tissues may accumulate more displacements than other parts during the transient response of the ARFI.
The wave information may indicate tissue characteristics in addition to acoustic impedance (e.g., B-mode) and Doppler (e.g., flow mode) imaging. ARFI imaging may provide tissue elastic properties based on tissue displacements induced by ARFIs. Wave velocity information may be useful for diagnosis. The wave velocity is determined as the time to reach the maximum displacement. However, the bias in the maximum displacement may cause errors in the derived information.